Latch-hook.



PATENTBD MAY 2, 1905.

P. G. BAKER. LATCH HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED our. 11, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED MAY 2, 1905. F. O. BAKER.

LATCH HOOK.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 17, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented May 2, 1905.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

FRANK C. BAKER, OF BLUE ISLAND, ILLINOIS. ASSIGNOR TO CHICAGO GRAIN DOOR COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LATCH-HOOK- SPECIFICATION forming: part of Letters Patent No. 788,696, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed October 1'7, 1904:. Serial No, 228,845.

'1'!) 0 65 whont it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, FRANK C. BAKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Blue Island, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latch-Hooks, of which the following'is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in latch-hooks, and has special reference to a hook particularly adapted for use in securely holding in position a grain-door which is hingingly secured adjacent to the top edge of the car-door and is swung back against the roof of the car.

The object of my invention is to provide such a device which, while simple in construction and inexpensive, may be readily and reliably operated and shall serve to so hold a door or other part in position from which it maynot be readilydislodged-as,for example, by the jolting movement of a car or other wise. These and such other objects as may hereinafter appear are attained by my invention, the preferred embodiment of which is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a transverse section of a portion of a grain-car fitted with my invention, showing reversed position in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of my latch-hook mounted in position. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of my invention. Fig. 5 is a perspec tive view of the bolt. Fig. 6 is a perspective view, from the back, of the preferred form of guide. Fig. 7 shows a modified embodiment of my invention. Fig. 8 is a view, partly in section, on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail 011 the line 9 9 of Fig. 7, and Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a modified form of bolt.

Like letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates a car; B, the doorposts; C, a guide-rod, from the upper end of which is hingingly secured the grain-door l). The grain-door D is swung upwardly under the roof E of the car and has its otherwise free end held in position by my improved latch-hook, which, as shown in the drawings, consists of a guide-piece F, within which is slidingly mounted a bolt G.

The bolt G comprises horizontally-extending members II and I, which project from the bolt G at substantially a right angle to each other.

The guide-piece F is provided with a vertical passage or groove j, through which the bolt G extends and within which it may be reciprocated. As illustrated, this vertical passage or groove F is open at its back, and the guide-piece is attached directly to a carline, so that the carline not only supports the wholestructure, but also provides a back for the groove j: Extending at an angle to this passage is a horizontal groove J, adapted to receive the arm I of the bolt G. This horizontal groove J is preferably provided with one vertical wall K of such a height as to form a permanent stop against the movement of the arm I in the direction of the wall K. The opposite side of the transverse groove J is provided with a vertical wall L of less height than the wall K, so that while the arm I when resting in said transverse groove rests between the walls K and L, which serve as stops to prevent its movement in either direction, by revolving the bolt G the arm I will be raised above the Wall L, and so may be swung across and over said wall and, if desired, may be allowed to rest within a groove M in said wall, in which position it will hold the bolt G in raised position and with the arm H swung out of the path of the door D. This arrangement has the further advantage of leaving the hook in a more elevated position and of leaving it ready to be moved to engaging position when the door shall again be swung upwardly under the roof.

The door D being swung upward and against the roof of the car, the arm H is swung under the free end of the door, thus carrying the arm I across the wall L and allowing the arm I to drop into the horizontal slot leading from the vertical passage-way through the guide or bracket.

Illustrating my invention as applied to grain-cars, it will be remembered that graindoors for cars are necessarily large and heavy in order to properly confine the large body of grain within the car. When, however, the car is being used for other purposes, it is desirable to have the grain-door swung out of the way and held safely in such position, so that there will be no danger of its falling down and injuring the occupants of the car to the injury of the door. Various devices have been used for that purpose; but with my invention it will be seen that the door can be disengaged from the arm or hook-H only by a movement of the bolt G first in a vertical position, which is opposed by the weight of the door, and then in a rotary position upon its axis, whereupon the hook will disengage the door and the door will be free to swing downwardly upon its hinging support at the upper ends of the rods C.

IVhile the jolting of the car will frequently disengage ordinary hooks from the end of a grain-door, such jolting will have no tendency to produce the compound movement to wit, vertical and axial-which is necessary with my device to release the door.

In Fig. 7 I have shown one modification, which, however, embodies the same broad idea. The bolt G is mounted in a guide F and is held in position by a button-head I. The door D is provided adjacent to its free edge with stops or blocks (1, the space between which is adapted to receive the arm II of the bolt G. It will thus be seen that in this embodiment of my invention the supporting-arm H cannot be moved to a position to free the door until it is disengaged from the stops upon the door. This disendoor, whereupon the bolt may be rotated and the door released. Here, again, we find that a compound movement is necessary to free the door to wit, the bolt must be rotated so as to move the arm H in a certain plane in order to release the door; but the bolt cannot be so moved until a part of the structure has been moved in a direction perpendicular to the plane in which the arm H must move, and in the application 01 my invention shown in the drawings this last movement is opposed by gravity.

While I have shown my invention applied to a grain-car, for which use it is especially adapted, it will be obvious that its use may be varied from the embodiment shown in the drawings without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is also evident that my invention may be embodied in other forms than that shown in the drawings.

agement is brought about by lifting the I claim 1. The combination with a suitable support, of a vertictlly-movableand axially-rotatable bolt, means for preventing the rotation of said bolt, and means adapted to hold said bolt in engagement with said rotationpreventing means, said means comprising a door having its lower end adapted to be so supported by said bolt as to oppose the disengagement of said bolt from said rotationpreventing means, all so arranged that when said bolt is disengaged from said rotationpreventing means it may be moved out of engagement with said door.

2. The combination with a door hingingly supported at one end, of means for supporting the otherwise free end of the door in an approximately horizontal position, said means comprising a locking member adapted to engage and disengage said free end of the door, said locking member being rotatable and vertically movable upon its vertical axis, stops arranged to prevent the rotation of said member so as to disengage said door, the door being so supported that its weight will yieldingly oppose that movement of said member which is necessary to disengage it from said stops.

3. The combination with a guide-piece, of a bolt vertically movable and axially rotatable therein, saidbolt being provided with a horizontally-extending arm, means for preventing the rotation of said bolt upon its vertical axis, said means comprising stops, and a door hingingly supported at one end and having the other end adapted to be supported by said horizontal arm so as to hold said bolt in engagement with said stops.

4:. The combination with a suitable support, of a guide-piece provided with a vertical groove and with a horizontal groove, of a bolt vertically movable and axially rotatable in said vertical groove, said bolt being provided with a horizontal arm adapted to en gage and to disengage said horizontal groove, and with a second horizontal arm, and means for opposing the vertical movement of said bolt so as to disengage said first arm from said horizontal groove, said means comprising a door hingingly supported at one end and having the other end adapted to be suported by said second horizontal arm so as to hold said first horizontal arm in engagement with the walls of said horizontal groove.

5. The combination with a car, of a guidepiece secured to a earline, said guide-piece being provided with a vertical guideway or groove, a bolt vertically movable and axially rotatable within said groove, said bolt being provided with a horizontally-extending arm, a stop device adapted to prevent the axial rotation of said bolt, and means for holding said bolt in engagement with said stop device, said means comprising a car-door hingingly supported at its upper end adjacent to the top of the door-opening and having its otherwise free end adapted to be supported by the horizontal arm of said bolt.

6. The combination with a suitable support, of a vertically-movable and axially-rotatable bolt provided with two outwardlyextending arms, of means adapted to engage one of said arms so as to prevent the rotation of the bolt when in a given position, the parts being so arranged that a vertical movement of said bolt will disengage it from said rotation-preventing means, and means for opposing the disengagement of said bolt from said rotation preventing means, comprising a door hingingly supported at its upper end and having its lower end adapted to be supported by one of the outwardly-extending arms of said bolt.

7. The combination with a car, of a guidepiece supported adjacent to the roof of the car and provided with a vertically-extending groove and with a horizontallyextending groove, of a bolt vertically movable and axially rotatable in said vertical groove, said bolt being provided with two outwardly-extending arms, one of which is adapted to engage the walls of said horizontal groove, so as to prevent the axial rotation of said bolt, and to be disengaged from said horizontal groove by a vertical movement of said bolt, and

means for yieldingly holding said arm in engagelnent with the Walls of said horizontal groove, said means comprising a car-door hingingly supported adjacent to its upper end and having its lower end adapted to be supported by the other arm of said bolt in an approximately horizontal position and to be disengaged from said arm when said bolt is axially rotated from its locked position.

8. The combination with a car, of a door hingingly secured at its upper end adjacent to the roof of the car, and means for supporting the lower end of said door in elevated po sition, said means comprising a guide-piece provided with two horizontal grooves extending at different angles to the vertical axis of said uide-piece, a bolt provided with two outwardly-extending arms, said bolt be ing vertically movable and axially rotatable in said guide-piece, one of said arms being adapted to alternately engage said horizontal grooves so as to prevent the rotation of said bolt, all so arranged that the weight of said door, when supported by one of the arms of said bolt, will yieldingly hold the other arm of said bolt in engagement with one of said horizontal grooves.

FRANK C. BAKER.

Witnesses:

G. Y. DANKWARD, F. H. DRURY. 

